


Never Again

by Seravia



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, Dubious Consent, Lust Potion/Spell, M/M, Prostitution, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-24
Updated: 2013-11-24
Packaged: 2018-01-02 12:11:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1056625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seravia/pseuds/Seravia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the way back to Camelot from Ealdor, Merlin's kidnapped then sold to a brothel where he's forced to service clients with a lust potion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Again

Merlin started a fire absentmindedly with a wave of his hand. Another wave and the bedroll was laid out beside it. Feeling the exhaustion from the past few weeks pressing down on him, Merlin slumped against a nearby tree and slid to the ground. He leaned his head against the tree trunk and closed his eyes against the prickle of tears.

\--

_Merlin left Ealdor with a heavy heart. He didn't know what to do with himself after his mother's funeral. Hunith had always seemed so strong, so solid even while Merlin's world was falling apart. But seeing her in Ealdor after years of being too busy to visit made him realize how frail she'd become. With all his magic and medical knowledge from Gaius, Merlin wasn't able to save her._

\--

It was his moment of grief that proved to be his undoing. In the next moment, just as Merlin sensed movement in the forest, a binding spell hit him. Merlin felt his muscles tense against his will, his body toppling over to lie on the ground, eyes wide open and staring at the men swarming into his tiny clearing.

Merlin knew the spell, and knew he was powerful enough to throw it off. But his magic had been feeling strained for weeks due to his constant attempts to save his mother, and the grief and exhaustion was addling his brain. Before Merlin got the chance to collect his thoughts enough to counter the bind, one of the men clapped his wrists with cold iron cuffs. Merlin cried out, writhing despite the binding spell as he felt the bond to his magic abruptly severed.

He squinted up at the man holding the chain to his handcuffs. Through the haze of pain, Merlin heard, "Never should've used your magic so openly, boy. We never would've bound you with those if we didn't see you light that fire."

Merlin instinctively tried to lash out with his magic, but he drew on nothing. Exhausted from the effort, Merlin fell into welcome darkness.

\--

"Here's the new whore I promised you," Merlin's kidnapper announced, shoving Merlin forward and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"This scrawny little thing?" the Madam said, nudging Merlin with her boot. "He looks like he'd break in a strong breeze."

"Oh, he's plenty feisty," the kidnapper replied. "Besides, look at that pretty face. Who won't want a piece of that?" He cupped Merlin's chin in a mockery of a caress and jerked his face up roughly to meet the Madam's critical gaze.

Merlin watched in disgust as the woman's face changed from skeptical to gleeful. "Well," she murmured. "That changes things." She ran an appraising finger down along Merlin's cheekbone, and Merlin had to fight the urge to bite down on it. Instead, he settled for jerking his face violently out of reach.

The Madam gave a tinkling laugh. "I see what caught your eye, Meric. He'll be perfect. Go put him in a room. You can collect your fee when you return."

"Thanks very much, Emma," Meric said with a leer.

"Go on, you lecher," Emma said with a laugh. "The answer's still no. Pick one of my girls if you want something."

"I can wait," Meric called as he walked away, dragging Merlin by the scruff of the neck.

"Stop," Emma suddenly said, voice going cold. "What are those around his wrists?"

"These things?" Meric said, gesturing at the iron cuffs. "Don't tell me you don't recognize them. They're magic suppressors."

"I don't want any trouble, Meric," she snapped.

"There won't be. He's perfectly safe now. Been docile as a lamb since I got them on him. He might kick or bite, but not a drop of magic is escaping from him as long as those are on."

"Fine. I'll take your word for it. Take him away."

\--

Merlin was thrown into a tiny, dark room with a single window. His bedroll was unceremoniously tossed in after him, practically striking him in the head.

"Have fun," Meric said mockingly before slamming the door shut and bolting the door from the outside.

Merlin leaned back against the cold wall and gave a frustrated sigh, tugging uselessly at the cuffs for the hundredth time. For all his power, he was defeated by what might as well be a bit of jewelry around his wrists. Without his magic, Merlin knew he was useless. All those years of training and he was still crap at swinging a sword. But the worst part was that without his magic, Merlin felt wrong. Off-balance. Like he could hardly put one foot in front of the other without falling down. 

The door banged open again, Emma standing in the doorway. "Hello, Merlin," she said sweetly.

"Hello," Merlin said warily, ready to bash her in the head with his iron cuffs if it came to that.

"Don't be scared, darling," she crooned, the falsely sugary tone making Merlin cringe back into the wall. "I'm just here to lay out the rules for you."

Merlin didn’t respond.

"It's quite simple," she said, walking into the room and shutting the door again, "you do whatever I tell you to do. For example, I'm telling you that you have to drink this before every client you service." Emma thrust a vial into Merlin's hand. He uncorked it and gave it a sniff, recoiling immediately when he recognized the scent as a lust potion.

"No!" he protested automatically.

Immediately, Emma was looming over him in Merlin's personal space. "No?" she asked in a deceptively sweet tone. "I told you to do as I say."

 _'If I won't even listen to a king, what makes you think I'll listen to you?'_ Merlin thought furiously, glaring at the woman. "I'm not doing it."

Emma narrowed her eyes, then backed away, posture relaxing. "Fine. I have other ways of getting this down your throat."

Before Merlin could do more than open his mouth, Emma snapped her fingers and Merlin's jaw dropped and locked there without his permission. The vial floated through the air and calmly tipped its contents into Merlin's mouth, leaving him no option but to swallow.

"You have magic," Merlin gasped after the potion all disappeared down his throat.

"So do you," Emma replied. "I would tell you to please your clients and give them whatever they want, but I don't think that's really necessary under the circumstances, do you? You should be feeling the effects of the potion already."

Merlin tried to ignore her and the waves of heat coursing through his body, making his cock hard and his head spin with arousal.

"You're seeing a client now." Emma dragged Merlin up by the arm and thrust him into a significantly larger room with a soft bed and dim lighting. "He'll be in momentarily."

Merlin fell on the bed, helpless against the rush of heat from Emma's touch. Through the haze of lust, he watched as an unfamiliar man entered the room and advanced toward him. Without knowing what he was doing, Merlin threw himself at the man, tearing at his clothes and mouthing at his skin. His brain felt so clouded he didn’t even have the mental capacity to be ashamed of what he was doing.

The entire ordeal passed in a haze, with Merlin hurriedly getting his hands and his mouth on the stranger's cock, sucking for all he's worth, spurred on by the man's moans and the way his hands bury themselves in Merlin's hair.

With a harsh yank, Merlin felt himself pulled off the man's cock, and Merlin glared at him in irritation, trying to dive forward and get it back in his mouth.

"No," the man gasped. "On the bed. I want to fuck you."

All Merlin heard was the word "fuck," and in seconds, he was stripped and was sprawled on the bed, two of his own fingers pumping in and out of his arse. Merlin lifted his arse invitingly at the stranger as he added a third finger.

The man gave a tortured groan and was on the bed beside him in a flash, pulling Merlin's fingers away and replacing them with his own. "God," the man moaned, "That's so hot. I wish my wife was like this." 

It didn’t take long before Merlin started whining for more, gasping, "Fuck, just put your cock in me. I need more. Fuck me already!"

The man hastened to comply, shoving his cock into Merlin, thrusting hard and fast until he came. The gush of hot come in Merlin's arse cleared away the effects of the lust potion and Merlin pulled away violently. The man laid beside him for a few moments, panting heavily. Then he got up and pulled his clothes on, brushing a hand over Merlin's back and whispering, "I'll definitely be back for you," before leaving the room.

He didn’t notice Merlin huddled so close to the opposite edge of the bed he was on the verge of falling off. He didn’t notice that Merlin never came or that his erection deflated the moment he realized what was happening. The moment the door shut, Merlin vomited over the side of the bed, his tears mingling with the bile as it landed on the floor. He stayed curled in that position, tears streaming down his face, stomach rebelling in disgust, until Emma came in and ordered someone to throw Merlin back into his own room.

When he got back to his tiny room, Merlin burrowed into his bedroll and cried himself to sleep.

\--

“What do you mean Merlin isn’t back yet?” Arthur snapped.

“I’m sorry, sire,” Leon said. “Are you certain Merlin was meant to arrive today? Perhaps he got held up on his way back from Ealdor.”

“He was supposed to be back yesterday,” Arthur groused, snatching up a bit of parchment right by his hand. As he waved the letter about, Arthur continued, “He sent word a week ago of when he would return. If something truly did come up, he would have scried to tell me.”

“I wouldn’t worry, sire. Merlin can take care of himself,” Leon replied.

Arthur barked a laugh. “Out of sheer dumb luck. Send out a search party. Even if they cross paths with him quickly, at least it’ll get him back here.”

“Yes, sire,” Leon said, hiding a smile at Arthur’s attempt to mask his worry for Merlin.

“Leon,” Arthur said just before Leon exited his chambers.

“Sire?”

“If something is wrong, make sure word is sent to me immediately.”

“Always, sire,” Leon replied.

\--

The next day, instead of waiting for news, Arthur set out with his knights to search for Merlin.

A week later, Arthur had covered the roads between Camelot and Ealdor five times over, but still no sign of Merlin. By the end of the week, Arthur had half of Camelot’s knights combing the area. Without Arthur’s knowledge, some of his knights opted to pursue other activities instead of continuing Arthur’s search for Merlin. Fortunately, this is also how Merlin is found.

\--

Bedivere, Lucan, and Lamorak were never friends with Merlin. In fact, they never understood Arthur’s attachment to the boy. How could a simple servant hold such sway over the King of Camelot? Whatever the king’s reasoning was, they wanted no part of it. Since all the other knights loved Merlin so much, they could be the ones to search for him. It wasn’t as if three more people would make such a difference.

“Why don’t we split up to search?” Lucan suggested suddenly. “We’ll cover more ground.”

Elyan nodded slowly, glancing around himself. “This is a large area. Safe as well. Perhaps splitting up would be a good idea.”

“Good. Bedivere, Lamorak, and I can go north; and Elyan, you can lead Bors and Caradoc south.”

Elyan nodded briefly. “Good thinking, Lucan. Meet at the main road at nightfall to report.”

The moment Elyan, Bors, and Caradoc disappeared from sight, Lucan swung around in his saddle to look at Bedivere and Lamorak with a smirk.

“I know a brothel just north of here. What say you we go ‘search’ in there?”

As understanding dawned on Bedivere and Lamorak, their faces split into identical grins. “We must not leave a single stone unturned,” Lamorak said. “Not even stones in a brothel. Imagine how disappointed the king would be if we weren’t thorough enough.”

Without another word, Lucan spurred his horse forward, Bedivere and Lamorak at his heels.

\--

“Emma!” Lucan called the moment he stepped through the brothel doors.

“Lucan,” Emma greeted warmly. “Or is it Sir Lucan now?”

“Properly knighted and everything,” Lucan said with a grin.

“That’s quite an accomplishment,” she said, dropping a kiss on Lucan’s cheek. “So who will it be today? Rosie? Or perhaps Mary?”

“Surprise me,” Lucan replied with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “My friends will be needing companions as well.”

“Ah, what will it be for you gentlemen then?” Emma asked, sidling past Lucan to stand before Bedivere and Lamorak.

“Someone nice will be fine,” Bedivere muttered, staring at his feet.

“Is someone a little shy?” Emma teased.

Bedivere blushed furiously in response.

Emma laughed delightedly. “I like that. I have just the girl for you.” She turned to Lamorak. “And you, sir?”

“A feisty lad for me. Not too experienced,” Lamorak replied.

Emma grinned. “Lucky for you I just got a new young lad. Pretty as you please. He’ll be just what you need.”

\--

Lamorak was the first to be led to his room. Scant seconds after the door shut behind him, a panicked shout came from within. Bedivere and Lucan were immediately on high alert. Moments later, Lamorak burst out of the room, eyes wide in shock, hair and clothes in complete disarray.

“Our lad too much for you to handle?” Emma said teasingly.

“What’s wrong?” Lucan asked sharply, thumbing the hilt of his sword.

“It-it-it-it,” Lamorak stammered.

“Spit it out!” Lucan snapped.

“It’s Merlin!” he blurted out.

Immediately, Lucan turned white as a sheet. “What?” he asked hoarsely. “Are you sure?”

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“What’s going on?” Emma asked, finally picking up on the tense atmosphere.

“Emma,” Lucan began.

“No,” she said firmly. “I know what you’re about to ask. I don’t care who he is. You’re not taking him.”

“Emma, you have no idea what you’re dealing with. If you don’t let us take that lad away, the king will have your head.”

Emma snorted. “Right. Like I believe that.”

“You’d best believe it. If I were you, I’d turn a blind eye and let us take him out of here.”

“Forget it. If you won’t be reasonable, get out of my brothel,” Emma said.

“Fine,” Lucan said. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With a jerk of his head, Lucan signaled for Bedivere and Lamorak to follow him out.

The moment they left the brothel, Lucan declared, “We have to send word to Arthur. He’ll have our heads if we don’t go to him right away.”

\--

“You found him where?” Arthur asked, voice low and dangerous.

Lucan gulped. “In a brothel, sire,” he stammered.

“Take me there. Now,” Arthur ordered, leaping on to his horse immediately.

Lucan scrambled to mount, hurrying to catch up with Arthur who had already spurred his horse into motion.

On their way to the brothel, Arthur asked, voice deceptively calm, “Why were you, Bedivere and Lamorak inside a brothel today, Lucan? Did you not understand your orders?”

“N-no, sire, we understood perfectly. We wanted to be absolutely thorough in our search, so we decided to check inside the brothel along our route just in case.”

“Really now?” Arthur asked softly. “Am I mistaken that this is a brothel you frequent when you have time? And that you are quite intimately acquainted with the Madam?”

“I-“ Lucan began, but fell silent.

“I see,” Arthur said coldly. “You should thank your lucky stars that you found Merlin. For that, I will spare your lives.”

“Thank you, sire,” Lucan said meekly.

Arthur calmly walked through the brothel’s doors, keeping his head down to avoid attention. The Madam immediately came over. “Hello, sir,” she said warmly. “How can I help you today?”

“I’d like a lad. Feisty. Young. Green,” Arthur said shortly.

“I know just the one. Right this way, sir,” Emma practically purred, leading Arthur along by the arm.

“Enjoy,” she said, ushering Arthur into a dark room.

Arthur stepped inside tentatively and before his eyes had a chance to adjust to the darkness, a body flung itself at him. Arthur stumbled backwards, arms coming up automatically to brace against the impact.

“Merlin?” he whispered.

There was no response. Instead, there was only the sensation of the body rubbing frantically against him, hands tearing at his clothing, lips mouthing messily at his neck. The sensations were all so like Merlin yet unlike Merlin at the same time that Arthur didn’t know what to think. When the man let out a moan, a sound so familiar Arthur would recognize it in his sleep, Arthur was suddenly certain it was Merlin. With much difficulty, he pried Merlin off him to look him in the eye.

“Merlin!” Arthur called. “It’s me. Arthur.”

There was no flash of recognition in Merlin’s eyes. All Arthur found when he looked into Merlin’s eyes were dilated pupils dark with uncontrollable lust. Arthur always loved seeing Merlin lost in pleasure, but this kind of magically induced lust made his heart ache for his Merlin.

While Arthur was distracted, Merlin broke out of his hold and flung himself at Arthur again. Merlin made quick work of Arthur’s clothing before dropping to his knees to take Arthur’s cock in his mouth.

“No,” Arthur muttered, trying to push Merlin away. When Merlin just kept sucking, Arthur repeated more loudly, “No! Merlin, stop it! Not like this! I order you to stop, Merlin!”

Despite Arthur’s protests, Merlin didn’t stop. Instead, he continued sucking Arthur’s cock like his life depended on it. And despite Arthur’s better judgment, he never could resist Merlin. After weeks without Merlin at his side and in his bed, his resolve was weak against this kind of pleasure.

Amidst the shame and the guilt, Arthur came down Merlin’s throat.

As Arthur sank to the floor in front of Merlin, drained from his orgasm, he heard a soft gasp of recognition.

“Arthur?” Merlin whispered.

“Thank god you recognize me,” Arthur breathed in relief, reaching out to Merlin. With little hesitation, Merlin threw himself into Arthur’s arms and buried his face in Arthur’s neck.

“Thank god it’s you,” Merlin half sobbed.

“Are you okay?” Arthur asked, trying to check Merlin for injuries while Merlin clung to him. “Have you been hurt? What happened this past week that you’ve been here?”

Merlin laughed bitterly. “I’d rather not talk about it right now. Can we please just leave? Now?” Merlin said, his words ending in a plea.

“Yes,” Arthur said. “I’m taking you away from here right away. We’ll go back to Camelot where you’ll have our comfortable bed, a warm fire, and me never letting you out of my sight again.”

“Worrywart,” Merlin said with a wan smile.

“I think I have good cause to be worried,” Arthur replied softly. Arthur gazed at Merlin for a few moments longer, then swung him up into his arms, despite Merlin’s protests, and marched out the door.

“Sir!” Emma shouted when Arthur tried to leave the brothel. “You are not allowed to take him away!”

Arthur swung around and looked Emma full in the face for the first time. “I am the King of Camelot,” Arthur said coldly. “I think you’ll find that I can do as I please. And if I wish to take my Court Sorcerer from this place, then I most certainly shall. Consider yourself lucky to be alive.”

Without waiting for a response, Arthur marched out of the brothel, Merlin safely in his arms.

\--

“How are you feeling?” Arthur asked softly, sitting on the edge of their bed.

Merlin smiled and reached for Arthur’s hand. “Much better. It’s good to be home.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened to you in that place?”

A dark look fell over Merlin’s face. Arthur touched Merlin’s arm gently to try to provide comfort, but Merlin shrank away.

“Merlin?” Arthur asked tentatively.

Merlin shook himself slightly and looked back at Arthur, the darkness in his eyes swept away. “I’m fine, Arthur. I will tell you what happened one day. But I’m not ready to relive the experience just yet.”

“We have all the time in the world,” Arthur murmured, lifting Merlin’s hand to press a kiss to the back of it. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready to talk.”

“I know,” Merlin replied, smiling softly.

“I’ll always be right here,” Arthur promised.

“I know,” Merlin repeated, gaze soft and unburdened for the first time since Arthur found him.


End file.
